Assistant Support Manager

Tell us a little about your background?

I went to Glasgow Caledonian University and graduated with a BA Hons in Social Sciences with Psychology. In my last year my research project was on Humour and Wellbeing. I have worked in Mental Health for the last 6 years in various roles for different organisation including a music therapist, a befriender, a support worker and now an Assistant Support Manager

What made you want to work for a Mental Health Charity?

I enjoy supporting people on their path to recovery.

Tell us about the Project you work on?

I help to manage a close knit team of ten people on this project and we support around thirty people across a large geographical area. This consists of supported living and supported accommodation; we provide various levels of support to people with a range of mental health issues.

What does a typical day at work for you involve?

A typical day consists of giving support workers advice, assisting them with processes, also advising on particular procedures. I help them to use our internal systems effectively along with our outcome tools. Managing the rota is my responsibility too and I do still provide some hands on support. In the role I also focus on getting involved in partnership work with companies and organisations, this can include developing workshops, delivering POWWOWS, also liaising with external organisations like social care regarding referrals. I am always focused on looking at ways to develop the service too.

What do you enjoy about working on this project?

I enjoy working with all the different people, from management, to staff, to people we support along with various other organisations. I enjoy the fact that everything is recovery focused and I enjoy the positivity, the ethos here to help people progress through to recovery is brilliant. I also feel like I have the freedom to develop myself and work in partnership with lots of organisations.

What makes Penumbra a great place to work?

We all take pride in the quality of our work, and are all recovery focused. The staff team are dedicated to supporting people, have great knowledge and are confident in the use of our outcome focused tools. Penumbra is successful with a proven track record supporting people on the road to recovery.